Florence School District awarded QZAB funds

Sarah Giddings

The School District of Florence county stands to save approximately $230,000 due to an interest-free loan recently received through the federal Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZAB) program. The district will be able to borrow $720,000 in QZAB funds to use toward the $14.5 million referendum-approved building renovation project.

Superintendent Ben Niehaus credits the community for helping the district to be able to submit a solid funding proposal. QZAB requires a 10 percent match, and the community stepped up to the challenge.

“I’d like to thank everybody that offered to contribute to the match. We received a lot of commitments for volunteer hours over the next five years, as well as other donations of money and items,” said Niehaus. The contributions from Florence County residents as well as industry partners across the border added up to over $72,000.

For the full story, see this week’s issue of The Florence Mining News.